Property managing couple owes near $60k in restitution

The former property managers of a Juneau apartment complex, who are convicted of theft for failing to deposit the rent checks they collected, have been court-ordered to pay nearly $60,000 in restitution.

Cheryl L. Hansen, 68, and Paul E. Hansen, 64, will have to pay $300 per month jointly until the $59,923.25 is paid off in full.

According to the agreement, the restitution will be collected through the state’s Attorney General’s Office and will go to the owners of the Airport Mini Mall and Apartments, where the Hansens worked as property managers for nine years beginning in 2001.

Judge Louis Menendez signed off to the stipulated figure during a hearing in Juneau Superior Court on Thursday. The Hansens did not attend the hearing because they are in Anchorage for medical reasons, according to Public Defender Grace Lee, who is representing Cheryl Hansen. Whitney Power, of the Office of Public Advocacy, is representing Paul Hansen and appeared at the hearing by phone from Bethel.

Prosecutors said it was the Hansens’ responsibility to collect rent and deposit it into the AMMA account, but they deposited slightly less than the amount collected beginning in November 2009. The discrepancies increased until the deposits dried up altogether in May and June of 2010. Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams said for the months of May and June alone, a total of $68,000 should have been deposited but wasn’t.

The investigation into the matter began when the owners of AMMA noticed the discrepancies, and notified the police.

The couple was indicted in November 2011 and they initially faced one count each of first-degree theft, a class “B” felony that can carry up to 10 years in jail, with a presumptive range of one to three years for first time offenders.

They both pleaded guilty in February 2012 to a reduced charge: one count of second-degree theft, a class “C” felony that can carry up to five years in jail with a presumptive range of zero to two years for first time offenders.

They were sentenced by Menendez in April 2012 to be placed on probation for three years. They also received two years of suspended jail time, which means that jail sentence could be imposed if they violate probation by missing a payment.